Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says wife Susie is determined to get to the bottom of why the FIA acted so hastily against her last December, insisting she won’t let the governing body sweep the matter “under the carpet”.
Earlier this week, Susie Wolff announced that she had filed a criminal complaint against the FIA in a French court on March 4
The unprecedented move was sparked by the FIA’s claim last December that it had initiated an investigation into Susie Wolff, alleging a conflict of interest and a breach of confidentiality.
The governing body alluded to Wolff’s leading role with the F1 Academy, suggesting that she may have passed on confidential information to her husband.
However, just 48 hours after the FIA’s announcement, the institution released a statement in which it said that there was no ongoing inquiry into any individual in F1 regarding a potential conflict of interest issue.
Despite the swift resolution, the damage was done. Following the public nature of the FIA's initial accusation, Susie Wolff clearly felt her integrity was unjustly questioned.
With no explanation provided by the FIA despite the Wolff’s call for transparency and accountability, a determined Susie Wolff is pursuing legal action in the French courts.
“First of all, Susie, is a strong woman,” Wolff told Sky. “She doesn't take anything from anyone and, as always, follows through on her convictions and values - and that's the case here.
“She's very unemotional about it and pragmatic. She feels wrong was done, and the court needs to hear that. Nothing's going to bring her off that path. That's how her character is.
“And, on the other side, it is the case and the fact that all year now we have been talking about cases of [lack of] transparency and various other factors that are just not great. And this is what Lewis referred to.
"We should talk about the greatness of the sport and where we are, and not the other stuff, but it needs to be pointed to.”
The Mercedes boss suggested that the FIA’s complete lack of transparency and accountability – something that hasn’t gone down well with the Wolffs – is just another example of a need for more rigor and liability in all areas of the sport.
“I think Susie, like I said before, she's started that process many months ago,” added Wolff. “[She] has done it very diligently, as far as I'm concerned, and will go all the way in.
“And I think it matters for her most to find out what happened. And [that] people take accountability and responsibility, and things are not brushed under the carpet.
“I think we as a sport need to do that in all areas, whether it is Susie's case, or whether some cases with the other teams.
“I think this sport has such a massive platform, we're doing so well, and maybe sometimes we need to take it out of the, let's say, jurisdictions of our sport into the real world and see what it does.”
Wolff did not believe that his wife’s criminal complaint and its potential consequences for the FIA would represent a “watershed” moment for the sport.
“I don't think there is such thing as watershed moment,” he said. “I just think that, at a certain stage, we shouldn't be just getting those hits and accepting them.”
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